offering breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks.

Cafe Continental is a joint venture between John Williams and Helmut Koban as part of the Breadbasket Ltd and is an extension to their existing business La Baguette.

The brightly coloured and modern looking European-style cafe bar opened last week after almost a year of refurbishment.

The eatery and bar, which is on the site of Enzo Nails, is licensed until 1 a.m., but is currently open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and closed on Saturday evenings.

"We have not yet decided what to do. We may have live music and several DJs have expressed an interest, but we will look at our options,'' said Mr.

Williams.

The idea for Cafe Continental sprang from La Baguette customers asking for somewhere to eat their sandwiches.

Mr. Williams added: "We asked a bit more, and some customers wanted to have a drink or maybe some wine with their meal.

"And they wanted breakfast and lunch and dinner.'' The idea for the striking decor came from Mr. Williams, who saw the colour combination of yellow, blue and purple on a bottle of wine he was drinking.

"It was Concha y Torre Sunrise Bottle, and I thought, somebody spent money putting this design together and the colours work out.

"I was going to get a designer in, but in the end we did it ourselves.

"The paintings on the wall were bought from an art warehouse in Miami.

"I saw them and thought they were just perfect for this place.'' La Baguette currently employs about six staff, and Cafe Continental one full-time bar tender, Wendel Castle, but Mr. Williams said if business grows, he will take on more staff to deal with customers.

Mr. Williams said: "The bar has attracted a lot of ladies -- a) because it is private and b) because it is not a sports bar with intimidating baseball bats on the walls and no televisions.'' The new place to see and be seen: Modern Eurocafe Cafe Continental on Burnaby Street is the latest addition to Hamilton's night life. Pictured John Williams, director of the business, with bar tender Wendel Castle in the background.